A letter to the Future Hosses of Sparta High School (:

Dear you awesome, praiseworthy, and totally Ba hoss of a student (I meant Barium teehee #nerdsrule),


Welcome to AP Biology! If you're reading this, congratulations you are probably totally awesome. Prepare to dominate this class and ultimately Sparta High School. Clearly, you are smart and have an interest in biology! I'm here to say that that is awesome! You will have a ton of fun in this class! Throughout the year we had many enjoyable conversations. Plus, Landry is a fantasic teacher and has a great sense of humor!

My advice will be the same to you as it always is to other students. There are three things you must do to be successful: work hard, pay attention, and study. That is it. It's as simple as that! That has been my motto all throughout my years here at Sparta. It got me into Michigan State and the top ten of my class. You will be successful if you do all of these things.

Good luck as you forge on through this school year! I am sure you will be successful! Oh, one last pointer.... DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. It is not difficult and will often times keep your grade alive (and by alive I mean an "A"). (:

Have fun this year!

Megan Wudkewych

AP Biology: Farewell to One of the Greatest Classes at SHS #biostyle #cellslayers

This class was extremely beneficial to me! As a senior now, I feel about a million times more prepared for college biology then I would have been otherwise. This class really went more in depth to subjects than general biology did. I relearned concepts that I had forgot in addition to learning more about the basics that I learned in general biology. One of the most helpful things we did in class was have discussions. We always had great conversations that typically spurred off another peers question. These discussions helped all of us to understand some real life applications of biology and how some of the concepts directly affect us. In general, this class made biology more relatable to me.

This class was extremely beneficial to me in terms of learning how to study and prepare for tests. Mr. Landry would give us assignments throughout a unit but, none of them would be due until the test. This helped me learn to pace myself with assigments and also taught me never to slack off! This will be invaluable to be as a college student! Knowing how to self regulate and pace yourself through school work will be extremely important!

Cell Organelle Project: Megan the Mitochondria

If I could take the role of one organelle, I would choose to be the mitochondria. Though many of you may not know me, as my blog is public, I am quite the powerhouse. The mitochondria and myself share this characteristic. In addition, we both work to not only help ourselves but help others as well. It was and forever will be my destiny to take the role of Megan the mitochondria.

Megan the mitochondria is a fantastic being. In fact, she is so fantastic that she is responsible for most of the useful energy derived from the breakdown of carbs and fatty acids. This useful energy is more commonly known to be the form of ATP.In addition to manufacturing molecules to make energy, mitochondria are involved in other tasks such as signaling, cellular differentiation, cell death, as well as the control of the cell cycle and cell growth. As with all fantastic beings, or organelles in this case, their structure may seem slightly complicated. Although mitochondria can very greatly in size of .5 µm to 10 µm the structures remain very similar across the board. The mitochondria is bound by a double-membrane system, consisting of inner and outer membranes. Folds of the inner membrane (cristae) extend into the interior (matrix) of the organelle itself.

**Insert entertaining and studious information here**
*Citric acid cycle can be viewed by clicking the link
So basically, enzymes thrive in the matrix of the cell


 "The matrix contains the mitochondrial genetic system as well as the enzymes responsible for the central reactions of oxidative metabolism. The oxidative breakdown of glucose and fatty acids is the principal source of metabolic energy in animal cells. The initial stages of glucose metabolism (glycolysis) occur in the cytosol, where glucose is converted to pyruvate. Pyruvate is then transported into mitochondria, where its complete oxidation to CO2 yields the bulk of usable energy (ATP) obtained from glucose metabolism. This involves the initial oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl CoA, which is then broken down to CO2 via the citric acid cycle. The oxidation of fatty acids also yields acetyl CoA, which is similarly metabolized by the citric acid cycle in mitochondria. The enzymes of the citric acid cycle (located in the matrix of mitochondria) thus are central players in the oxidative breakdown of both carbohydrates and fatty acids." - The Cell: A Molecular Approach by Geoffrey M. Cooper

MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE: the struggle is real
Since the mitochondria produce about 90% of our body's energy, a disease of this organelle is very detrimental to the human body. A malfunction in the mitochondria is caused by a genetic mutation, it isn't contagious but can passed along to offspring. When they fail to function, cell injury or cell death may occur due to the loss of energy. It affects the brain, skeletal muscles, heart, kidneys, liver, ect.
Symptoms may include ( but are not limited to):
Poor growth, loss of muscle coordination, visual or hearing problems, developmental delays, diabetes, neurological problems, ect.

Basically, mitochondria dwell in basically every cell in the human body. When the mitochondria fail, the cells fail, then the organs, then ultimately the body itself will no longer have the energy needed to survive.

Much is still unknown about the mitochondria which is probably due to the thousands of proteins that pass through or make up that organelle. This is another characteristic we share. Mitochondria are complicated as are a woman's emotions. But who knows, science will probably be able to explain the mitochondria through and through (and maybe write a book for men on how to understand a girl (like they would read it anyway (: )).

Human Stupidity

Topic: GARBAGE - HUMANS NEED TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AND RECYCLE

Topic: GARBAGE - HUMANS NEED TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AND RECYCLE

One of the most obvious effects of pollution is shown in the pictures above. Specifically, the way we dispose of our garbage is just that itself, garbage. It can kill animals and destroy habitats for animals. The acidity from the garbage can make land uninhabitable for plants as well. There are many ways to solve this issue, first is recycling! Educate the public about what is happening to our precious environment! Recycling is easy and reduces the need to use additional resources. It is just smart to recycle. Secondly, this issue could be solved by the cleaning up of garbage in polluted environments such as the ones shown above. This would be a long but beneficial task. Who might do this you ask? The amount of people in prison or jail would surely be a strong force against the garbage. Why not have the figurative scum of the streets aid in the cleanup of the literal scum of garbage island? If every person in the world started recycling today, we would surely have a greener tomorrow. 

Video that shows the effect of garbage on sea life

References
YouTube
60 Minutes tv show
EPA.gov

SHS HOMECOMING = BEST HOMECOMING EVER

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!! Homecoming is something that almost every school has. Although not everybody gets the chance to participate or even witness the amazing events that occur at Sparta High School on homecoming day. Our school does an incredible job of showing school spirit and unity while at the same time having a fierce competition between grades! I would love to inform you about it from each grade's point of view!

FRESHMEN: All of a sudden the whole school is fired up about this homecoming thing! What is it even? Apparently we have to donate money and bring in canned food to gain points in the competition? What competition? So I guess my grades theme is the 101 Dalmations? What does that mean?? I have been going to these so called "float practices" but why are they important? And Mock Rock? ARE YOU KIDDING, I have to dance in front of the entire school? Who cares I will look fabulous doing it anyway. So we have all these fabulous dress up days coming up to the homecoming and the seniors just look crazy! Then on Friday all the grades show up in different colors and are separated into groups by grades on the stands...Then we are losing at everything AND the rest of the school is cheering for us, THE FRESHMEN, WHAAAAATTTT?! So even if we lose and our mock rock looks bad...everbody cheers and still loves us. Hmmm... I could really get used to the attitude of Sparta High School. Apparently everybody knew that we were supposed to be bad but still loved all of us anyway... COOL!

SOPHOMORE: Okay here we go again! We are Asia! Our class color is purple... I must start buying a bunch of purple stuff so i'm totally decked out the day of homecoming! Okay, so our float got last last year, but this year more people are going to come out and make it awesome! Rock on!! We want to beat the juniors! Although, people still arent donating food OR pennies!! But the dress up days are totally rockin! I am so glad that I know what's going on now! So the games roll around and we have been practicing them! We get a first place and a couple of seconds, but now we understand why everybody cheered for us last year as freshmen! WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING!! Now, we are cheering for them! How exciting! And how awesome that our school can come together and make this possible! After the games in school, I am totally pumped to be a part of SPARTAN NATION and go to the football game tonight!!

JUNIOR: Okayyyy so basically we are all prepared and ready to go! We want to beat the seniors! But, we fall short. Our theme is Footloose and our class color was green! So basically, we tanked out our Mock Rock and float. It was a good time. We lost to the seniors. But, as we move up we really appreciate how our school is together and how we are such an amazing school and community. PLUS MR. SPENCER DRESSED UP AS ROCKY BALBOA AND TOTALLY DID AN AWESOME SKIT!!!! WOOT WOOT SO READY FOR THE FOOTBALL GAME! CANNOT WAIT TO SEE EVERYBODY THERE IN THE SAME COLOR!!!!!!! (:

SENIOR: So basically, we have the cat in the bag. We planned out our float early and started collecting canned food and pennies way early (which are donated to charity btw AWESOME). Our mock rock is planned and we are ready for the games. It is our senior year, so it is bittersweet! We took home the red apple, but we will never get to complete for again. It was an amazing experience to be a part of. I would love to do it all over again, not the schooling part just the homecoming day. It is so awesome how we can all come together for the competition. It makes me so happy! The unity we have in the school is just incredible! SPARTA HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMING CANNOT BE BEAT!!!

That is our homecoming!

My First Ever Blog Post! Woot woot!

Hellooooooo out there!

      My name is Megan Wudkewych. This is my first ever blog post and it is very exciting! I will be a senior this year at Sparta High School. I have three siblings, one dog, and one puppy. I am very interested in the sciences and plan to take my interests further into the medical field in college. My grandfather was a doctor and it was inspiring to see the amazing things he could do. From an early age, I've known that I want an active position in the medical field. I love being on the run all the time with cross country and track. I am also the current president of our very own National Honor Society. Well that's a little bit about myself. I am super excited to be taking AP biology!
      I am taking this course to prep myself for college and hopefully gain some free credit! I also have a semi large interest in biology. I hope to walk out of this course with more knowledge and feeling ready for college!
Below is a picture of my teacup out Boo, and my red lab Blitz.